As part of my degree program, I have to secure a technical writing internship before I graduate. Since I ultimately want to work in the not-for-profit sector, I chose to seek out an internship with a local animal shelter, Polk County Humane Society.

I’m really excited to get to work, so I’ve been obsessively looking into their Web site and Facebook page. Through this I learned of a grant contest that are in the running for: the Pepsi Refresh Everything Contest.

PCHS decided to partner up with other organizations and create the Animals & Autism Alliance. I’ve copied/pasted some information PCHS sent out about their alliance below:

Meet Ella’s Hope …one of our new friends from the Animal-Autism Alliance group. The mission of Ella’s Hope Foundation is to promote autism awareness and to support families affected by autism spectrum disorders. This organization was brought to life because of a young girl living in Columbia Missouri. Her family noticed that Ella started lagging behind in the usual milestones for children her age. Through the process of doctor’s visits, they eventually were given the diagnosis of autism. Ella’s family has since become advocates for all children diagnosed with autism and they know firsthand the value of intervention and therapy. When you vote for our alliance members, you not only support Polk County Humane Society, but also families and beautiful children like Ella. For more information about Ella’s Hope Foundation, please click here.

We have eight (8) other new friends to add to the people around the country who are now aware of the plight of animals being rescued in rural Polk County, Missouri. Brown Dog Foundation helps families who are unable to provide life-saving medical care for their four-legged family member because of outside hardships such as their own illnesses or job losses. They keep these families whole and intact when everything else seems to falling apart. Every dog deserves a tomorrow, every cat deserves nine lives.

Dogs For Autism trains dogs to provide comfort, therapy, and help for children who have been diagnosed with autism. Visit their blog to learn firsthand about the lives of the children who they and the trained therapy dogs have touched. The animals that they place in the homes of autistic children make a difference that every parent should experience.

Too often, once a disabled child turns 21, they get left behind or have fewer resources. But, if Steve McAnnaney and friends win this grant they will make sure that those services continue. ADERS reaches out to folks who have aged out of the resources available to children. They are there for families who are facing difficult choices as they continue to struggle with care, meaningful activities, and professional support for their family member who is no longer a child, but still struggling with autism.

Please visit the pages of our remaining five partners to learn more about their causes and why YOUR VOTE means so much to them. Don’t Throw Us Away rescues animals out of high-kill shelters and partners them with prisoners who work with and train these animals to be great citizens. Florida Keeshond Rescue provides hope and medical care for severely abused and ill dogs. They provide assistance for dogs in Foster and Permanent Homes. On behalf of all severely disabled children A Child’s Best Friend is seeking funding to train a therapy dog to bring into the classroom. The founder of this idea, Jen Hoffman experienced first hand the calming effect her golden retriever had on the disabled children in her classroom. Aubrey Rubin is reaching out to more technical resources to Help Children With Autism Communicate. She is a speech pathologist in the Boston School system and witnesses the frustration of the autistic students, teachers, and families when the autistic child is not able to communicate with the rest of the world. And, finally, Catkins Animal Rescue is caring for up to 75 animals per day with no shelter available to them. Their dream (and we at Polk County just realized this dream) is to have a permanent shelter so that they can streamline their care for the rescued animals.

So for this edition of Volunteer Opportunity of the Week, I’m encouraging all of you to get involved with helping charity…with just the click of a button!!! You can EASILY help out by simply visitng www.tinyurl.com/Animal-AutismAlliance or by texting any of the codes below to Pepsi @73774.